Reviews by Zraly:

I've been visiting Capital Ale House in downtown since I interviewed for my PhD at VCU a few years back. It was actually a "positive" when I was rating my preferences for graduate school! Granted, it was a secondary factor...but a factor nonetheless. "Can I get good beer here and have a reasonable place to chill?"

And for those purposes...CAH is great. It has decent food (the sandwiches & frittes pose as great pub food), a great selection of beer on tap, and the atmosphere, in general, is pleasant.

I go to CAH at least a few times a month. With my class demands decreasing, and my reading & writing demands increasing, I might haunt this place more often in the coming years. My last visit, this past Thursday, I had a Corsendonk Christmas ale (on tap) and my girlfriend had a Stone Smoked Porter (on tap). Both were very tasty and were served in the appropriate glasses.

I find the beer selection to be appropriate and of high quality. There is always a nice mix of import and American micros on tap. Sundays are a great day to try some of the American micros on tap; a pint of any American micro is only $2. "Steal the glass" night occurs on Wednesdays. For the most part, this is a respectful, beer-positive atmosphere that has good spirit in supporting beer appreciation.

As for the food, I've had the opportunity to sample most of the sandwiches on the menu and I can attest that they are good portions and are of good quality. When I am feeling "meat", the Cuban is rather satisfying. Also, for you veggies, the black bean burger is great (although quite messy). I've also had a few of the dinner entrees. The Waterzooi mer du Nord is quite tasty, as is the fish and greens. The fish for the fish and greens selection is typically something along the lines of salmon or talapia.

A few small caveats about CAH:

1. The service has odds of being hit or miss. There are a few servers who have been there since I can remember and they are great. They are conversant on beer and beer style. They are prompt and courteous. I always enjoy myself whenever I have one of the "seasoned veterans" as my server. However, it is the restaurant business and there is always employee turnover. It's inevitable. And often times the newbies do a fine job, considering. On occassion, though, I expect to be ignored and for my service to be shoddy. So again, this is an acknowledgment that, like other restaurants, CAH suffers from some staffing issues and it sometimes shows in the service received by patrons.

2. The list of available bottles is really just a list of bottled beer that CAH had in stock at some point in the recent past. I tend to avoid the bottle list most of the time. There is usually plenty of good stuff on tap to hold my interest. My girlfriend sometimes orders off of the bottle list and is usually disappointed. This past visit she asked for a Bell's Cherry Stout. They were, of course, out.

3. In general, the atmosphere is cozy and inviting. Sometimes, though, tables near the bar can get a bit smokey. This is Virginia, afterall.

The downtown location is expanding. They are adding a Beer Garden that is projected, I think, to open later next year. There is now plenty parking in the parking garage that is connected to CAH. No more searching for a spot in downtown.

I think that CAH is a quality restaurant/beer bar. There is some room for improvement, but nothing that should dissuade a person from paying a visit to this establishment. Come for the good beer and decent atmosphere. You'll hopefully find some delicious beer to make your visit worth the trip.

Fantastic place for dinner & a few beers. We hosted a company Christmas party here and it was a huge hit.
The place has a nice vibe, inviting and friendly atmosphere, tastefully decorated bar area and facilities. The servers are very knowledgeable and friendly, and actually give good recommendations. Our service was very good, given that this was on a Friday night with a large group! No complaints there. Beer selection in my opinion is incredible, I mean I don't get the nit-picky reviewers complaining about lack of selection, with over 150 to pick from, how many MORE beers do you need to have to be impressed?? Geez. It's Richmond, not New York. The food was very good, I was pleasantly surprised at how good it actually was. Being an Ale House I half expected the quality to be mediocre at best, but was very happy with how good it really was.
Our entire group thoroughly enjoyed the evening. They do a superb job with corporate parties, I recommend this if you have the chance.

The vibe is pretty typical of many other places you'd find in any east coast city, but it's nice. Seems like a pretty chill place to have a drink and a bite to eat. Great quality, excellent service, and fantastic selection of beers on tap and bottled. The food is good too, it's not everywhere you can enjoy pierogi with your beer. I'd definitely come back here the next time I found myself in downtown Richmond.

I use to love this place a few years ago. Now that Richmond has many many craft bar options this place has failed to evolve. The music hall part is nice, just not a lot of bands you really want to see come. Lots of taps but normally the same beers on tap that every other bar in Richmond has. Turn over on the beers also seems hit or miss. Price on the beer has typical bar mark up, you get a discount for buying bottles to go however. Food is ok. Service is hit or miss.

10 years ago I'd probably have given this place 5/5 but plenty of spots like this exist now.

Beer selection wins out over everything else here. The bottle list is beyond extensive and there are plenty of fantastic options on tap. They have high end favorites, great local/regional options and they put plenty of the less than easy to come by items on the menu, stuff like 120 pops up regularly. Prices are fair.

It feels like a typical bar - no frills in a good way, but nothing to write home about.

Food to me is a bit of a drawback - it's fine but the quality could step up just a touch. Sandwiches fries and all are fine but nothing special.

It is a great local chain and one to hit up if you're looking for a place to kill some time before walking to The National or something.

Capital Ale has a great selection and variety of beers at most places. The food is very good as well. The atmosphere can be great and some places even have live music. Sounds perfect right? Well..not so fast. My biggest gripe with this chain has always been service. I use to work across the street from the one in downtown Richmond. Clients wanted to go to lunch there. We could never get in and out in under 90 minutes and it was usually a lot closer to 2 hours. Service at night wasn't much better. The bar can be extremely crowded and the beertenders can get overwhelmed. Most are very knowledgeable. They have a 1/2 price growler night. Well worth trying but bring your patience when you go.